Thomson

It’s a heck of a way to run a pre-election campaign. On the eve of an expected election, politicians usually spend their time playing up good news, downplaying the bad, shaking hands and kissing babies.

Diamond Rings: why he'll never be a 'sleazy' pop star

The Toronto synth-rocker talks about Free Dimensional's debt to Rihanna (and Nirvana) and why it's just not in his nature to be sleazy.

Photograph by: Handout/Norman Wong
, Handout/Norman Wong

The look is Max Headroom and Elvis: rhinestoned lapels, smoke and lasers, a platinum pompadour. (Sorry, Miley. He had it first.)

The sound is chill EDM and glam-rock guitars.

But Diamond Rings’ lyrics? That’s where the Toronto performer might really shock you. When other pop acts are either enticing you with “if I were your boyfriend” come-ons -- or plain, full-on sleaze -- just being a nice guy is provocative.

And nobody in pop dares to be this sweet. Take these lines from “Runaway Love,” the third track on Diamond Rings’ new album, Free Dimensional (out Oct. 22). “When I’m with you all the skies have rainbows/ When I’m with you all the clouds have sun,” the 27-year-old sing-songs. “You and I can make it extra special, you and I can make it super cool/ You and I can beat the extra level, You and I can make and break the rules.” A shot of spacey power pop, the song manages to be “super cool” without irony. Clean-scrubbed innocence and video game references: not even Justin Bieber gets this adorable.

John O’Regan, the man behind Diamond Rings, agrees that there’s a certain innocence, or “positivism,” to Free Dimensional. It’s an album that he hopes sounds uplifting, inspiring.

“There should be more honest, positive conversation, discourse, I think happening in the world,” he says over the phone before leaving for Tulsa, Oklahoma. The electro singer-songwriter has been touring the States with Stars since September; he headlines his own Canadian tour later this year. “It doesn’t have to be all, you know… total posturing.”

“I am the one writing the lyrics, and I think that is a difference between me and anyone in the pop game. It’s not some dude in their mid-30s attempting to tap into the brain of an 18-year-old girl. It’s actually me, as an adult, trying to communicate a feeling that’s pure and real,” he says.

And being real, for Diamond Rings, means being a guy who’ll sing about rainbows time to time.

“Above all else, it’s just not in my nature to be sleazy,” he says, “or to incorporate some kind of innuendo into what I’m saying. It’s just NOT who I am, and it’s not who I’ve ever been. Never who I will be!” he laughs.

So who is Diamond Rings?

You might know him from the Junos; he was up for Best New Artist this year. Or maybe you caught him at a Robyn show; a chunk of his packed, 2011 tour schedule included several weeks opening for the “Dancing on My Own” pop genius. Others first got a shine for him in 2009, when the sometime indie-rocker (Toronto’s The D’Urbervilles) began releasing DIY music videos for tunes such as “All Yr Songs.” Pitchfork, notably, hearted the video''s mashed-up aesthetic of ‘90s hip-hop and Value Village “unisex” glam -- and boosted him to notoriety. In 2010, he released his debut, Special Affections, a collection of stripped-down, Garage Band-recorded electro-pop.

Free Dimensional, his major-label debut (EMI) takes Diamond Rings out of the bedroom studio. The record was co-produced by Montreal’s Damian Taylor, who has overseen work by Bjork (Biophilia, Volta) and The Killers (Battle Born). And though Taylor hasn’t buffed Diamond Rings’ pop into Top 40, the result is, in the musician’s words, “a big jump” forward.

As such, Free Dimensional is another chance for Diamond Rings to introduce himself -- “I’m Just Me” being the mission statement. (That’s even the title of the synth-blitzed first single, released this summer.)

“This album is a real distillation of all that I’ve learned – as a musician, and all that I’ve listened to,” he says.

Major props, however, go out to Rihanna and Nirvana: two artists that served as “the main inspiration” during the recording process. The goal was to “fuse those two attitudes,” he says, “because I think they’re both very similar in a lot of ways, though on the surface, maybe, quite different. At the core, there’s a directness, there’s an impactfullness and a sort of ferocity that is sort of undeniable.”

“It’s more just about adopting a fearless attitude to composition and performance,” he says of Free Dimensional. “Putting the performance and putting the lyrics and putting ME front and centre above all else -- I think that has more to do with pop music than, say, indie rock.”

Does he want to be a pop star, though? Does Diamond Rings want to see himself, not just front-and-centre on stage, but front and centre like a Lady Gaga or a Katy Perry?

“I’d love to play the Air Canada Centre. But that can’t be the sole motivating factor behind what I do,” he says. “If it were, I would still probably be going about it all wrong. Should have, you know, started when I was 17, and moved to L.A,” he laughs. “That’s what you do if you want to be a pop star on someone else’s terms.

“But it’s more about doing things my own way. If people get behind this, then that’s awesome. I really, really hope they like it. Whether or not that happens, I still like it at the end of the day, they’re still my songs. It’s all my vision and my truth and no one can take that away. That’s all I really care about.”

Free Dimensional, the second album from Diamond Rings, arrives Oct. 22. Stream it now via The Hype Machine.

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

After consulting with its insurance company, the Lethbridge School District No. 51 pulled its lone team out of the upcoming cheerleading championships at the West Edmonton Mall. The school board said its insurance company thought “it was prudent” to issue a four-week travel warning, advising the school and its students to stay away from the West Edmonton Mall after the recent threat of terrorism.